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Flags

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Utah remembers the victims of September 11, 2001

I never heard or saw anything about this in the media. I was going to the bank

when I saw this. I went home, got my wife , and came back with a camera.

Below is my best, though inadequate, attempt to share the experience with

you.....

The above picture was taken on the mall in front of the Sandy, Utah city hall.

Scroll sideways to see the whole thing. I pasted the photos together to try and

help show just how big this thing was, but even with that, the photos don't do

it justice. There was very little publicity about this, but it was a real

traffic stopper. People would park and get out and walk among the flags. Some

brought bundles of flowers and left them at the base of a flag. Others came

together and just hugged each other hard in the silent memory of the terrible

loss that we suffered one year ago. We all know over 3000 people lost their

lives, but seeing this display, and walking among it, helps put perspective on

just how big a number that is.

Close up of one of the signs placed around the perimeter of the display. There

were also some international flags on display representing some of the various

foreign nations whose citizens died that day. Interestingly, this whole display

was done by a local company that manufactures and distributes flags and flag

display equipment... and I saw not a single sign bearing their name in the

display. People walked through, and all you could hear was the sound of the

flags blowing in the breeze. A reverent silence prevailed over the display as

those who came each reviewed his or her experiences of that fateful day a year

ago.

I saw many families while I was there. It was hard watching adults struggling

to cope with their own emotions while caring for children who were far too young

to understand the significance of the flags around them. To the credit of the

children, I didn't see any who could not somehow sense that this was a special

place. For a few moments, everyone who came, young and old, male and female,

families, and even a group of mentally handicapped individuals stopped their

busy daily lives to remember. If those who caused this pain only knew how much

stronger we have become, and how terribly their comrades have paid, and will

continue to pay, for this horrible crime, I wonder if they still would have done

what they did.

It's hard to picture mentally just how big this thing is. As I walked among the

rows, I was reminded of rank on rank of soldiers standing at attention, guarding

us even now.

Some brought flowers, small flags, notes etc. The flags didn't have individual

names on them so I don't know how people picked out where they would leave these

tokens as they experienced their own memories and grief. For anyone who has

ever shed a few tears at THE WALL (the Vietnam Veterans memorial in Washington,

D.C.) or during the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in

Arlington, VA, this display is every bit as moving in its sheer power to remind

those who come of just how deeply we all experienced the cowardly attack on

innocent civilians in our own homeland.

We parked about a block away to get in and experience it up close. We weren't

the only ones as you can see.

This page has been visited times since it was published on 9/12/2002

©2002 by McGlamry & Associates. All rights reserved. Images and commentary may

not be published elsewhere without express written permission.

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